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Joey pursed his lips in a sign of pique. "Dad, we gotta go. It's our job. We gotta help the kids." He looked ready to cry at my stubbornness. I was afraid of something like this. "Jess, if we get involved with these runaways and we don't report them, we could be the ones that end up behind bars. I know damn well why they're avoiding the police but we've got a family to think about."

Radio, Joey, Jesse and the little girl all looked at me like I was something undesirable found on the bottom of a shoe. I backpedaled. "Did I say that? I didn't say that. I meant to say what do they need, where do we go?" I had developed great survival skills in eighteen years of married life. I also knew when to sit down and shut up.

"I am very familiar with the risks involved Thomas." She hadn't quite scraped me off her foot. "However, these are children who have no way out. We've got to help. They have no friends in the system. Besides, Joey's friend says this is our job. He says we have to get them out of the city and to a safe place."

Did I say I knew when to shut up? "Out of the city! Do you know what you're talking about. That's probably kidnapping! Besides there must be thousands of them. Jesse are you out of your mind." Giving these little guys some food and attention was one thing, but I would be damned if I was going to see my whole family on the lam from the FBI. "Jess, there's got to be another way. We could stir up some grief at city hall, try to keep them out of their parents hands, call congressmen and contact the media. There are a lot of ways to do this. Be reasonable, Jess, we can't do them any good if we're watchin' this thing from inside maximum security."